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Drug Maker's Ploy to Delay Generics: Add a Line to Pill

In the latest tack by a pharmaceutical maker to delay generic competition, Irish specialty drug maker Warner Chilcott PLC is trying something new: adding a line across the top of a tablet.

The line, or "score," doesn't affect the chemical composition of Warner Chilcott's Doryx medicine for severe acne. Rather, it makes it easier for patients to divide and take the tablets in thirds, according to the company's filing with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.